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National Leadership
A formal partnership has been formed among CDC; AHA; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; and the Office of Public Health and Science, HHS, through a memorandum of understanding that created the Healthy People 2010 Heart and Stroke Partnership. The goal of the partnership is to maximize the participating organizations’ investments in CVH and to capitalize on their individual strengths to achieve the Healthy People 2010 goal for preventing heart disease and stroke. The partnership divided this goal into the following four separate areas based on the different intervention approaches that would be needed to achieve them:
- Prevention of risk factors.
- Detection and treatment of risk factors.
- Early identification and treatment of heart attacks and strokes.
- Prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events.
The Healthy People 2010 Heart and Stroke Partnership has improved communication, coordination, and collaboration at the national, state, and local levels. Activities proposed by the partnership to meet the Healthy People 2010 goal and targets include
- Conducting population- and community-based health education and health promotion.
- Coordinating public awareness messages and media activities.
- Effecting environmental, policy, and system changes.
- Jointly promoting professional education and training, including joint presentations, cohosting of national conferences, dissemination of best practices, and joint consultation on cardiovascular issues for conferences and workshops.
- Facilitating relationship development, support, data collection, and resource sharing.
- Sharing scientific and information resources.
Examples of accomplishments to date include
- Developing a Healthy People 2010 Heart and Stroke Partnership database of activities, which will eventually be made available to the public.
- Developing and implementing the Act in Time to Heart Attack Signs campaign, including a joint press conference.
- Developing a year one evaluation report of the strategic partnership.
- Cosponsoring Cardiovascular Health for All: Meeting the Challenge of Healthy People 2010—A National Conference, which was held April 11-13, 2002, in Washington, DC.
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The Cardiovascular Health Collaborative
In 1998, the Health Resources and Services Administration, CDC and the Institute for Health Improvement formed the National Diabetes Collaborative to aggressively address chronic disease by reducing disparities and increasing access to quality care in federally qualified community health centers. In April 2001, the first Cardiovascular Health Collaborative was initiated and integrated with the Diabetes Collaborative. In July 2002, the collaborative provided training and support to help community health centers and state heart disease and stroke prevention programs improve quality of care by implementing a chronic care model and an improvement process model for CVD management. Future training is planned.
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Other Federal Partnerships
National High Blood Pressure Education Program
The National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP), a cooperative effort of professional and voluntary health agencies, state health departments, and many community groups, has as its goal reducing death and disability related to high blood pressure. Strategies to achieve this goal include developing and disseminating professional, patient, and public education materials and programs that have a strong science base and developing partnerships among the program participants. The NHBPEP is coordinated by NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. At the core of the program is the NHBPEP Coordinating Committee, composed of representatives from 38 national health organizations and 7 federal agencies. For more information, see www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
National Cholesterol Education Program
NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute launched the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) to help reduce illness and death from coronary heart disease (CHD) in the United States by reducing the percentage of Americans with high blood cholesterol. Through educational efforts directed at health professionals and the public, the NCEP aims to raise awareness and understanding about high blood cholesterol as a risk factor for CHD and the benefits of lowering cholesterol levels. The NCEP relies on partnerships to bring cholesterol information to a wide audience. The NCEP Coordinating Committee, NCEP’s policy-setting body and board of directors, embodies this partnership principle: its membership consists of representatives from more than 40 major medical and health professional associations, voluntary health organizations, community programs, and governmental agencies. For more information, see www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
Hearts N’ Parks
Hearts N’ Parks is a national, community-based program supported by NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. This innovative program aims to reduce the growing trend of obesity and the risk of coronary heart disease in the United States by encouraging Americans of all ages to aim for a healthy weight, follow a heart-healthy eating plan, and engage in regular physical activity. Through Hearts N’ Parks, park and recreation departments and other community-based agencies offer science-based information about lifestyle choices that can reduce a person’s risk of heart disease and teach skills for incorporating heart-healthy behaviors into one’s life. An evaluation of a pilot Hearts N’ Parks Program at 33 sites in North Carolina showed that participants retained information about heart-healthy behaviors and intended to eat healthier. In addition, children reported learning new physical activities and improving their performance in others; seniors reported feeling healthier and experiencing
less pain in their daily lives by the end of the program. Community organizations interested in signing up to become a Hearts N’ Parks community should contact the National Recreation and Park Association at 800-649-3042 or by E-mail at programs@nrpa.org. For more information, visit the Hearts N’ Parks Web site at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/obesity/hrt_n_pk/index.htm.
Native American Cardiology Program
The Native American Cardiology Program, based at the University of Arizona, was developed by the Indian Health Service (IHS) to provide on-site cardiovascular care to Native Americans at reservation clinics within the Navajo, Phoenix, and Tucson areas of the IHS. It has evolved to become a unique collaboration involving the IHS, the University of Arizona, the University Medical Center, the Flagstaff Medical Center, the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, and Native American tribes and communities. The program promotes cardiovascular health and wellness for Native American patients throughout the Southwest through state-of-the-art treatment, education, and prevention to stem the rising epidemics of cardiovascular disease and diabetes now affecting Native American communities. For more information, see www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Cardiology/index.cfm.
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Professional Development Opportunities
The Cardiovascular Health Practitioner’s Institute provides intensive training and skill building to state heart disease and stroke prevention program managers and AHA state health department liaisons from 12–15 states each year. The training is co-sponsored by CDC, the Association of State Chronic Disease Directors, AHA, and the University of Rochester Department of Community and Preventive Medicine. The goal of the training is to enhance participants’ abilities to develop and maintain public health programs for preventing and controlling CVD, reducing related risk factors, eliminating disparities, and promoting CVH. In future years, an annual skill-building workshop will be provided to state heart disease and stroke prevention program staff from all states.
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